Banks, Others Embrace Collocation to Reduce Cost

Banks have begun moves to co-locate their masts in commercial cities across the country to reduce operational costs and stave-off pressures from various authorities, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
It was gathered that some of the banks with cluster of branches are discussing with collocation operators like Helios Towers, IHS Plc, Swap Technologies among others to collocate their microwave transmission equipment to such sites.
Collocation of cell sites allows more than one telecommunications operator using microwave technology in transmission to locate their equipment in one base transceiver station (BTS).
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigation revealed that the move by banks to adopt collocation of their transmission equipment may have been informed by the recent workshop organised by DCC Network which provides banks with telecommunications services and Helios Towers where benefits of   collocation were presented to participants.
It would be recalled that banks and telecommunications operators that erect masts for their transmission facilities have been under pressure from National Environmental Standard Regulation and Enforcement Agency (Nesrea), state governments, local government authorities and other agencies to reduce the number of masts erected in major cities.
They claim masts distort the aesthetics of the environment.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the initiative will ensure that banks’ branches which are near each other can locate their equipment with those of telecom operators without interference.
This initiative is expected to start in Lagos before extending to other major cities in the country.